A
79-year-old woman was found dead in a field next to her home in
Italy

High
humidity in the north and hot winds from Africa in the south are
making the perceived temperatures seem even hotter

Olive
yields in parts of the country are forecast to be 50 percent lower
than normal this autumn and the scarcity of water has cut sheep's
milk production by 30 percent in others, with knock-on effects for
the production of one of Italy's most popular cheeses, pecorino.

Temperatures
in Southern Spain are expected to hit mid 40's deg C as well well as
extreme temperatures in southern France, Italy and the Balkans with
Eastern Europe, Hungary and Romania also suffering dangerous
temperatures at the height of the tourist season.

With
temperatures set to hit 46 deg C (115 deg F) in parts of Italy today
wildfires have turned deadly.

A heatwave that has left Italy
sweltering in record temperatures sparked wildfires Thursday which
claimed the life of one elderly woman and forced the closure of a
major highway.

The 79-year-old woman was found dead in a field
next to her home in Sant'Omero in the central region of Abruzzo,
having apparently been overcome by flames that engulfed two hectares
of surrounding farmland.

A section of the Via Aurelia coastal
motorway that runs northwards from Rome to the Riviera had to be
closed for several hours because of a major fire near Grosseto in
Tuscany.

The region's celebrated landscape is usually baked to a
rich golden colour by the end of the summer: this year it resembles
burnt toast with August barely underway.

With peak temperatures
topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in much of the
country, a total of 26 major towns and cities were on the health
ministry's maximum heat alert.

Admissions to hospital emergency
units have spiked 15 percent in recent days and forecasters see no
respite coming before early next week.

High humidity in the north
and hot winds from Africa in the south are making the perceived
temperatures seem even hotter for Italians longing for the beach.The
heatwave has come on the back of a prolonged drought that is set to
cost Italy's large agricultural sector billions with 11 regions
facing critical water shortages.

Olive yields in parts of the
country are forecast to be 50 percent lower than normal this autumn
and the scarcity of water has cut sheep's milk production by 30
percent in others, with knock-on effects for the production of one of
Italy's most popular cheeses, pecorino.

Temperatures in
Southern Spain are expected to hit mid 40's deg C as well well as
extreme temperatures in southern France, Italy and the Balkans with
Eastern Europe, Hungary and Romania also suffering dangerous
temperatures at the height of the tourist season.